If No DNA Deal, Pataki Will Call Lawmakers Back

Gov. George Pataki has promised to call a special session and require the Legislature to return to Albany if they leave this week without passing a bill he is promoting toÂ expand the DNA bank for all criminals.

The Assembly appears to be unwilling to do the bill and has submitted an alternative that doesn’t requireÂ everyone convicted of a misdemeanor to submit DNA samples to the stateÂ registry.Â

Senate Republicans won’t accept that measure, even though Pataki said he would sign such legislation into law while continuing the fight for the broader bill, including using his power to require a return to special session.

“We all agree that an all-crimes DNA Databank is a remarkable crime fighting tool,” Parker wrote. “Each day we wait to pass this bill we miss the opportunity to solve and prevent crimes, and we fail to do our best to protect people. There is no question that someday New York State will pass all-crimes DNA laws — it is just a question of how many lives will be lost while we wait.”